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Waterloo's technical programs would be at home at a very strong polytechnic. It's not Oxbridge and never will be. "University" is a misnomer but English-speakin

by jarek 12y ago

Waterloo's technical programs would be at home at a very strong polytechnic. It's not Oxbridge and never will be. "University" is a misnomer but English-speaking Canada doesn't use "technical university" or "polytechnic" and "college" means something else. Weak ties with industries are important for theoretical research but a joke for programs like mechanical engineering.

1971genocide 12y ago
As far as I see it waterloo doesn't advertise itself as a polytechnic, however it might be a fault of their marketing department. I do not think I am mistaken with their intentions, why doesn't UoW charge similar rates (fees) as other polytech rather than charging the rates of MIT/Oxbridge ? They offer 4 years bachelors degree similar to the ones offered by any other top universities. I disagree that mechanical engineering should be put in the same ranks as electricians/auto-mechanics.
- jarek 12y ago
  > As far as I see it waterloo doesn't advertise itself as a polytechnic The marketing I see has very strong focus on co-op and particularity. I don't think anyone went into UW Software Engineering thinking they'd be doing ground-breaking CS theory. (Pure math or physics, on the other hand...) > I do not think I am mistaken with their intentions, why doesn't UoW charge similar rates (fees) as other polytech rather than charging the rates of MIT/Oxbridge ? What rates do other polytechs charge? Are you talking about UW's domestic or international tuition? The latter is mostly supply and demand. > I disagree that mechanical engineering should be put in the same ranks as electricians/auto-mechanics. I agree so it's probably a good thing mech eng co-ops design and debug auto assembly plants :)
  - kps 12y ago
    > I don't think anyone went into UW Software Engineering > thinking they'd be doing ground-breaking CS theory. > (Pure math or physics, on the other hand...) Waterloo has a long-standing Computer Science department as part of the Faculty of Mathematics as well as a (comparatively recent) Software Engineering program in the Faculty of Engineering.
    - jarek 12y ago
      The post is about SE in particular so I mentioned that. Obviously a CS degree can be made much more theoretical, downright to co-op being optional as mentioned elsewhere. (BASc-MTE '10 so I know the backstories.)
- potatolicious 12y ago
  > "I disagree that mechanical engineering should be put in the same ranks as electricians/auto-mechanics." I'm a Waterloo MechE (of sorts, long story) and pretty sure you're misreading jarek's comment. Ties to industry is the bread and butter of mechanical engineering (not electricians, not auto-mechanics, not technicians) - it's intensely application-focused (as all engineering disciplines are) and R&D traditionally has much higher capital costs than software, so you're practically forced to partner with industry. When I was in school most research programs were funded by a combination of government funding and industry collaboration. On the MechE side, particularly in Waterloo (due to proximity to Canada's manufacturing belt) this seemed to be primarily automotive and manufacturing.
- DrewAllyn 12y ago
  If you said the word 'polytechnic' in Canada, nobody would know what you mean. In Canada, we use the word University, and College, but they mean different things.

by jarek 12y ago

1971genocide 12y ago

As far as I see it waterloo doesn't advertise itself as a polytechnic, however it might be a fault of their marketing department. I do not think I am mistaken with their intentions, why doesn't UoW charge similar rates (fees) as other polytech rather than charging the rates of MIT/Oxbridge ? They offer 4 years bachelors degree similar to the ones offered by any other top universities. I disagree that mechanical engineering should be put in the same ranks as electricians/auto-mechanics.

jarek 12y ago
> As far as I see it waterloo doesn't advertise itself as a polytechnic The marketing I see has very strong focus on co-op and particularity. I don't think anyone went into UW Software Engineering thinking they'd be doing ground-breaking CS theory. (Pure math or physics, on the other hand...) > I do not think I am mistaken with their intentions, why doesn't UoW charge similar rates (fees) as other polytech rather than charging the rates of MIT/Oxbridge ? What rates do other polytechs charge? Are you talking about UW's domestic or international tuition? The latter is mostly supply and demand. > I disagree that mechanical engineering should be put in the same ranks as electricians/auto-mechanics. I agree so it's probably a good thing mech eng co-ops design and debug auto assembly plants :)
- kps 12y ago
  > I don't think anyone went into UW Software Engineering > thinking they'd be doing ground-breaking CS theory. > (Pure math or physics, on the other hand...) Waterloo has a long-standing Computer Science department as part of the Faculty of Mathematics as well as a (comparatively recent) Software Engineering program in the Faculty of Engineering.
  - jarek 12y ago
    The post is about SE in particular so I mentioned that. Obviously a CS degree can be made much more theoretical, downright to co-op being optional as mentioned elsewhere. (BASc-MTE '10 so I know the backstories.)
potatolicious 12y ago
> "I disagree that mechanical engineering should be put in the same ranks as electricians/auto-mechanics." I'm a Waterloo MechE (of sorts, long story) and pretty sure you're misreading jarek's comment. Ties to industry is the bread and butter of mechanical engineering (not electricians, not auto-mechanics, not technicians) - it's intensely application-focused (as all engineering disciplines are) and R&D traditionally has much higher capital costs than software, so you're practically forced to partner with industry. When I was in school most research programs were funded by a combination of government funding and industry collaboration. On the MechE side, particularly in Waterloo (due to proximity to Canada's manufacturing belt) this seemed to be primarily automotive and manufacturing.
DrewAllyn 12y ago
If you said the word 'polytechnic' in Canada, nobody would know what you mean. In Canada, we use the word University, and College, but they mean different things.